Khan-Collazo is ‘The Moment’s’ Only Worthwhile Undercard Fight

As every fight fan already knows, Floyd Mayweather will be making his return to the ring on Saturday May 3rd against Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas NV. The hardcore boxing fans along with the general public don’t seem to be too excited about this match up. After all, Mayweather is a 13-1 favorite over the Argentine slugger.

However, Amir Khan (29-3 19KO’s) will be facing Luis Collazo (35-5 18KO’s) on the undercard and will serve as the co-future on the card. In my humble opinion, this is the most intriguing and competitive fight on the card. For many, it’s also the type of fight in which a winner is difficult to pick.

Luis Collazo is a 14 year veteran and former world titlist. He has competed in the welterweight division his whole career and has fought the likes of Hatton, Mosley, Berto and Ortiz. Collazo fights out of the southpaw stance and would be categorized by most observers as a boxer puncher. Collazo fights well on the inside and outside and has the ability to fight coming forward or backwards. He stands 5’9 in height with a 72 inch reach. He also happens to be a durable fighter who always comes into his fights in good physical shape. The Brooklyn veteran possesses average punching power and a sneaky right hook. However, he can be inconsistent at times and his bout with Freddy Hernandez and Shane Mosley are great examples of that.

Amir Khan on the other hand used to be a 140lb king pin holding two major titles at one time. Khan has faced great competition thus far in his career despite his last two opponents being sup-par. Khan holds great wins over Andriy Kotelnik, Paul Malignaggi, Marcos Maidana, and Zab Judah. Khan used to be an excellent Jr. welterweight but hasn’t looked good since his loss to Peterson.

Khan has been (in my opinion) one of the most exciting fighters in recent years and still remains so until this day. He has an offensive style along with a glass jaw and great hand speed. However, I don’t believe his speed plays much of a factor on B or A level opponents because he has never learned how to use it correctly. Every punch Amir Khan throws is the same speed. His better opponents get used to it after two or three rounds and start timing and gauging his punches easily. Khan throws all his punches as fast as he can like a good amateur should. But in the pro ranks where he’s fighting twelve three minute rounds, he takes away the surprise element in his speed advantage. It seems to be a bad habit he formed while fighting as an amateur as his style hasn’t changed too much since turning pro.

Technically this will be Khan’s second fight at welterweight and we will get to see him matched up with a top ten welterweight for the first time. Like most other fans, this is a very difficult fight for me to predict a winner but as of right now I have to lean towards the Brooklyn native due to both fighters recent forms.